Damaged Genius
by MarieVerdonck
Summary: What if the FBI assigned another genius to the BAU, what if this one is only 15 but seems so much older. Will the team accept him and help him with his haunted past or will he remain in his lonely existence? child abuse, slash OMC/Morgan or Reid
1. Chapter 1: A new member

_Title: __**Damaged Genius  
**__Rating: M or NC-17(probably for later chapters)  
Warnings: Angst, slash, child abuse, minor  
Summary: What if the FBI assigned another genius to the BAU, what if this one is only 15 but seems so much older. Will the team accept him and help him with his haunted past or will he remain in his lonely existence. Will he finally escape the hold the FBI has over him and regain some semblance of freedom?  
Disclaimer: I don"t own any original characters, I don"t make any money out of this, wish I did though;)_****

**Chapter 1: A new member**

Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner was filling in some paperwork from their last case in Ohio.

knock knock

"Come in"

Agent Hotchner watched in amazement as a young boy, maybe 12 or 13 walked into his office carrying a file of some sort.

"Can I help you?" He just stopped himself from asking if the boy was lost somehow though it seemed highly unlikely that some lost kid just happened to wander into the BAU HQ, but the main thing that stopped him was the sight of the boys eyes, he seemed so much older when you just looked in his eyes. They seemed experienced, like he had seen things that a boy his age shouldn"t have seen.

"I am to give you this, sir." The boy handed over the file he was carrying, on top of the file was an official looking letter, probably some order from his superiors, the boy was still there watching him intently.

"Is there anything else?" I asked the boy, who seemed to be waiting for something.

"I am to wait until you read the letter, if I"m not mistaking I believe its contents are in reference to myself, though I do not know exactly what its content is." The boy explained in a tone of voice he couldn"t interpret, like the boy was trying to conceal his emotions, which made Hotch wonder why he used such precautions.

"Very well, please sit down." The boy slowly sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. By now Hotch was very curious to what exactly the letter had to say about the peculiar boy, so with a last glance at the boy who was still sitting in the chair with a carefully made blank expression which made Hotch even more curious, he opened the letter.

_SSA Hotchner,_

_I"m pleased to inform you that the person, who delivered this letter and was instructed to stay with you until further instructions, will from now on be working with you and your team. Hephaistion A. Winters will be given the rank general assistant to your division, he is to travel with you on all your _

_cases and aid you in whatever way you see fit. Now while he is quite young, I assure you that he is more than qualified to fulfill whatever task you see fit. _

_Mr. Winters is partially emancipated and a ward of the state, he has certain restrictions on what he can and cannot do, he is aware of all the restrictions he has and will follow these accordingly, the only thing that you must supervise is that he cannot wear a firearm but I request that he still gets training in handling of firearms, although we have already made sure that he is adept at it, it was not deemed safe enough to allow him such a weapon, he is however allowed to wear _other_ weapons to protect himself. _

_We do request of you that you file in a very detailed monthly report on Mr. Winters and ask you to keep an eye on him, he is rather unpredictable._

_Further details concerning Mr. Winters are in the file that was handed to you._

_Robert Mueller, FBI Director _

Ten minutes later Hotch finished the letter and was trying to decide what exactly they meant by this letter: Hotch was by no means an idiot, he could read between the lines perfectly well, they made the young boy seem like some dangerous criminal who could not be let out of sight. He didn"t want anything to do with it… Robert Mueller, **the** FBI Director… he could do nothing but obey this man, there was no way he could go against the Director. He just didn"t know what to do with this Hephaistion, a rather peculiar name, though it seemed to fit the boy.  
The letter mentioned that he was fully qualified to do whatever was required, so the boy seemed to be some kind of genius, though he didn"t quite seem the stereotype genius like Read, honestly he didn"t really know what to expect of the boy, so far he has only kept a neutral expression, not showing any emotion. He decided to question the kid before he went over his file, to at least know something about him that wasn't constructed by his superiors. He could only imagine how the rest of the team was going to react.

"So Hephaistion, you mentioned that you suspected the contents of the letter, what exactly do you it says?" Hotch questioned, honestly curious to what the boy knew.

"I imagine they want me to work here, it probably also mentions how you must report everything I do or do not do. I assume you deduced that they believe me to be some kind of threat but I would like to reassure you that I don't wish you or your team any harm, you have nothing to fear of me, though I will understand you and your teams trepidation." The boy answered with a bitter expression, though I could not blame him, he looked like someone who enjoys his privacy, to have it violated like this would not be a pleasant for him.

"Indeed, you are not pleased by this?" Hotch asked trying to gauge is reaction to his confirmation to the kids suspicions.

"I have no doubt that I'll learn a lot from the experience and I hope I can be of any help" The boy started carefully, trying not to insult anyone: "but I fear they had some ulterior reason to reassign me to this division."

Now Hotch was slightly confused, why did he say 'reassign', he wondered how long the kid had been working for the FBI, so he decided to ask: "How long have you been working for the FBI?"

"Two years sir, though I have been a ward of the state since I was eleven."

Then it occurred to Hotch that he didn't know how old this kid was: "How old are you?"

"Fifteen sir" The boy said, again with a completely blank expression, perhaps he was ashamed. The age of fifteen came to a surprise, the kid only looked twelve or thirteen, it was very strange, though he reckoned that the boy himself wasn't very pleased with this. He did not look like the type who enjoyed being mocked because of his age, if anything he would think that the kid would try and make himself look older so his apparent youth cannot be of his own choice.

"What did you do before you were assigned here?"

"Anything that was requested of me sir, I developed some computer programs, everything that you're allowed to know should be in the file sir." The boy answered carefully again.

With this statement Hotch's curiosity and apprehension of the boy only grew. What the hell had the FBI let this kid do that it would be classified to even his rather high security access, maybe Garcia could find out more about this kid, that woman could look up anything about anyone, rather frightening when you stop to think about it. Hell, what **could** this kid do that it has to remain classified.

"How exactly are you 'qualified' to help us?"

"They assumed my PhD in psychology, specialized in forensic psychology would be sufficient." He said hesitantly as if he wanted to say more but did not want to draw attention to himself.

"According to this letter they seem quite convinced that you could be of help and since I assume you don't have any previous experience with behavioral analysis, I can't help but wonder why they are so convinced." Hotch stated trying to get more information out of the boy since he seemed so hesitant with answering the last question.

"I have some other degrees that could be of help in your department and I have studied previous cases which makes them sure that I at least have a basic understanding of what exactly you do." He answered grudgingly, Hotch was convinced that there was still more to it but hoped that the file would give him some more information later, he wondered why exactly the kid was answering his questions when he clearly did not feel comfortable here or liked him at all, he doubted that the boy would want to answer questions which could be answered by just reading the file, but Hotch wanted to understand the boy. Though he thought it would be a bit too blunt to just ask him why he was answering his questions, instead he asked:

"What exactly do they mean with partial emancipation?"

"I am allowed to live on my own but like they probably mentioned I have some restrictions and requirements given to me by the government." The boy said again with a neutral expression and voice, clearly it was a rather delicate subject.

"What restrictions an requirements do you have?" Hotch asked, this was probably one of the things that would not be mentioned in the file, they did not seem very willing in the letter to give a further explanation on this subject but he hoped the kid would be more forthcoming, he doubted the boy would really want him to know but as the boy has answered his questions so far without really wanting too, he could always try and see what he could get out of him.

"In exchange of the liberty to live alone and the funds to pay for my studies, I am required to work for the FBI, hence my employment here, the restrictions are there for my own safety." He answered with a slight sneer he could not seem to repress, he obviously was not pleased with his restrictions. By now I was very curious as to why the boy wanted to be emancipated so desperately that he would agree to requirements he obviously disliked and why he did not get a conventional emancipation, it was clear that the boy was smart and mature enough to live on his own, why would a judge refuse his application for emancipation.

"Why is the government in control of your emancipation?"

"I was not allowed a regular emancipation, hence these restrictions." Hephaistion answered carefully, again he masked his feelings about the matter.

"Why were you not allowed a regular emancipation, you seem responsible enough?"

"Obviously the judge does not agree with your assessment." The boy was certainly not saying everything about the situation, though he was trying very hard not to lie, once again I wondered why the boy seemed so careful not to displease me. I was still very curious about Hephaistions restrictions, though the one he did know about the firearms was quite logical, then I remembered the mention that he was allowed other weapons.

"The letter mentions that you're allowed other weapons beside firearms, what exactly did they mean?"

"There should be a list of weapons I am allowed to wear and can use in the file sir." He answered with a slight smile, it was obvious that the boy was pleased that he was allowed to carry weapons, even though he could not have firearms, perhaps he was not allowed to do so before he was assigned here. Hotch looked a bit more careful at the kid and now saw some kind of Asian sword strapped to Hephastions back, now this was interesting, the boy was not allowed a gun but he could wield a bloody sword. He wondered what other weapons the boy was allowed to use, at least he did not have to worry that the boy would be completely helpless, not that he or Gideon would let the boy do anything remotely dangerous, I mean Gideon won't even let Reid to anything too dangerous and Reid was 26 and was allowed to use a gun, this kid was 15 and had a sword and who knows what else.

"A sword, Mr. Winters?"

"Yes sir, it's a Nodachi, but like I said, I know how to use it and don't wish you or your team any harm sir." The kid answered looking pleased that Hotch was not trying to forbid him from carrying a weapon, a sword at that. Hotch had no idea what a Nodachi was but it looked like it was some kind of katana-like sword.

"Are all the weapons you're allowed to wear swords?"

"No sir, there is also a selection of knives, daggers and I am allowed a bow but it's not very practical so I probably won't use it sir, the rest are swords sir." The boy answered willingly, he looked comfortable with talking about this, though he was still being very careful not to displease me in any way, it was a bit unnerving, as if the kid was afraid of him. Hotch didn't know what else to ask, it seemed as if the kid really didn't want to talk about anything so he decided to let the rest of the team know about their new member.

"If you would follow me Mr. Winters, I'll show you where you can put your things, I'll introduce you to the rest of the team as soon as you're settled in and I have told them about you." With these words SSA Hotchner stood up and began walking to the door and as expected the boy picked up his bag, which I completely missed seeing before and followed his now new supervisor. Though Hotch was wondering where his box with stuff was.

Arriving at one of the free desks, Hephaistion took out his laptop and installed it, though he did not take anything else out.

"Where is the rest of your things?" Hotch could not help but ask, I mean, he must have more things if only a photograph from his pet or a journal or something, everyone had something, even Reid has some personal stuff.

"I don't have anything else, I'm already wearing my weapons, the rest of them are at my apartment, and everything else is on my computer, I have some books still in my bag.

"Very well, I'll go inform the team, I trust you'll find something to keep you busy." He said knowing that he'll need some time to explain everything and to share his impressions of the kid with the team, and they needed time to discuss his file.

"Of course sir." Hephaistion agreed.

--

Hotch called everyone in the conference room to discuss Hephaistion.

"Hey Hotch, who's the kid?" Morgan asked the moment he walked in.

"Let's wait for the rest and I shall explain, Morgan." Hotch said patiently.

When everyone was seated watching him with curious faces Hotch started to explain: "I trust you all saw Hephaistion before you walked in?"

"Hephaistion? Is that is name? Weird man, of course we saw him, he was kind of hard to miss out there" Morgan said in his infinite wisdom "What the hell is he doing here, he's like 12 or something."

"He's 15 actually and he was… assigned here." At these words everyone was looking at him like he was crazy.

"Assigned as what exactly, Aaron?" Gideon asked trying to regain his calm though it was clear that he too was shocked with this new development.

"His job description is rather vague, they gave it the title 'general assistant'. The kid is some kind of genius, so far I know he has a PhD in psychology, specialized in forensic psychology but I think he has some other things, I have not looked through his file yet. He's partially emancipated but a ward of the government, in exchange of his partial emancipation and funds to pay for his studies, he has to work here and do anything we say basically. Apparently he has restrictions, I don't know why he was not allowed a normal emancipation, he's not very forthcoming. As you may or may not have seen he is wearing some kind of sword thingy on his back, he's not allowed a firearm though the director ordered me to make him train with firearms, don't worry apparently he can use the sword thingy. He's been working for the FBI for two years.

"It's a Nodachi, a Japanese sword." Reid our all-knowing genius said.

"Yes he mentioned that. So, what do you think, I thought we could go over his file together, to form our judgment so to speak."

"All right let's look at his file, I have to admit that I'm curious." Morgan said.

So Hotch opened the file and they all gathered around it to see.

"What the hell! I think we can certainly say we have another genius, fucking 5 PhD's, ah he's even outdone Reid" Emily exclaimed.

"No wonder he wants this emancipation so bad, his mother died when he was 4, he ran away when he was 7, lived on the streets for a year, got put in an orphanage, had 3 foster families who brought him back to the orphanage claiming they were unnerved by his intelligence and decided to adopt someone else. I wouldn't want to be this kid. He got emancipated by the government when he finished high school at eleven and then gained 5 PhD's in 4 years." Gideon summarized.

"You want me to see if I can find more about him, don't you?" Garcia asked looking sad.

"If you wouldn't mind, they seem to be deliberately vague about everything, why did he run away, why couldn't he get a normal emancipation what has he been doing for the FBI these past two years, he mentioned he wrote some computer programs for the FBI, maybe that can help." Hotch said, feeling slightly guilty to look in to the life of this kid but he needed to know more about this kid than some vague file, and he had already established that he's not very willing to tell them everything himself.

"I'll see what I can do." Garcia answered trying to sound cheerful though it was clear that she didn't like this either.

"Are you ready to meet him, guys?" Hotch asked

"Sure, go get him, I'm curious." Reid said looking a bit shocked, no-one could blame him though, the kid was an enigma; a genius with a lot of secrets it seemed.

--**This is my first fic so please be gentle with your flames;) I don't know if it's a good idea but I liked it so I just decided to try. If you see any spelling or grammar mistakes please forgive me, English is not my first language. Let me know if you liked it or hated it, in other words: REVIEW please!**


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting the team

**Chapter 2: Meeting the team**

Hephaistion followed his new supervisor, SSA Hotchner, in to a rather large room with three tables surrounding a screen, this was obviously the conference room. Looking at him expectantly was 'the rest of the team' that Agent Hotchner mentioned, of course he was perfectly aware of who exactly they were, he did his research, it was rather obvious where they wanted to send him when they gave him access to previous BAU cases to study. Sitting in front of him were the best behavioral analysists in the country, he had to be careful here, they probably were already busy profiling him, he was a private person, the rest of the FBI did not know what to make of him so they send him here to be profiled, hence the bloody report agent Hotchner had to file in. He was sick and tired of the government trying to 'figure him out' like he was some kind of rare finding they dug up and have yet to find a use for, it was sickening and extremely annoying but he couldn't do anything, if he protested he would lose his partially emancipated status and he would have to go back to the orphanage or another fucking foster family who freak out because he was smart, fucking idiots. Even these people, supposedly some of the smartest people in the world were gawking at him like he was some kind of freak. Of course he was careful to keep the distaste of his face when he came to this conclusion, he would have to keep these people happy, otherwise they would probably complain in that bloody report like the spoiled children they probably are, and then of course it would give the FBI ample reason to exercise even more control over him, displeasure of his employees would only give more reason to give him more restrictions, though they would be hard pressed to find restrictions that he didn't already have. The idiots were still staring at him like some circus attraction, seriously you would think these people have better things to do than stare at a kid the whole day. Well better not keep the lordships waiting, he sneered internally:

"Hello, my name is Hephaistion Athean Winters as you probably know." He stated simply, no reason to give these people more information to profile him. He was already pissed at himself that he had to answer all of agent Hotchners questions, these people probably will ask even more bloody questions, nothing like a good bloody puzzle to keep them busy he thought with spite.

"Hello Hephaistion, we appreciate you being here and helping us in whatever way you can." One of them said, SSA Gideon was the name if he remembered correctly, what was he talking about of course he remembered correctly, he remembers bloody everything, just another reason to gawk at him of course. At his words Hephaistion only just stopped himself from snorting, right, they 'appreciate' is help, they didn't appreciate him, they clearly did not like the presence of 'a little kid', for profilers they sure were easy to read, it was written all over their faces that they thought he should still be in school with the other good little sheep.

"We have a new case, guys, it's a local case." With these words a blonde haired woman walked in, Jennifer Jareau, nicknamed JJ, the BAU's liaison, their connection to the outside world so to speak, perhaps he could feel a bit more comfortable in her presence, she was not a trained profiler, she would hopefully not try to 'figure him out'.

JJ was just about to continue briefing the team when she saw the kid standing next to Hotch. The boy looked quite peculiar: he was very short for his age, from his height you would say he was 13 or so but his build was that of a 15-year old. Also the teenager had long hair, if you saw him from behind a less observant person could mistake him for a girl. The teen was wearing some kind of silk Chinese shirt which only added to the change to be mistaken for a young, flat-chested girl though if you 

looked harder you saw that the teenager had some muscles beneath the clothes he was wearing, she would bet that he could stand his own to most people, especially if he is as agile as he looks, he might not win against someone like Morgan with brute strength.  
"Hello, my name is Jennifer Jareau." She stated not really knowing what to say to the effeminate teen.

"Hello, I'm Hephaistion Winters, I will be working here from now on." He answered smoothly.

JJ could not help but look in confusion to Gideon as to why they were now working with the strange teen.

"Hephaistion was assigned here as a general assistant, he has a 5 PhD's, one of those psychology specialized in forensic psychology, so he is qualified to work here JJ." Gideon answered before she asked the question, by now she was used to the fact that profilers seemed to know what you were thinking, sometimes it was rather annoying but at times like this she was grateful for it.

"Very well, there were three murders, they were found at three different locations but were wearing the same, it is obvious that the killer dressed them up before dumping him, though he made no effort to hide the bodies, that means that he wants them to be found. They were all female and were wearing a red dress with symbols on them when they were found, they did not look alike so that can't be the reason why he chooses these victims." While she was talking she was showing them pictures of the woman and more detailed pictures of the symbols. "Experts have looked at the symbols but have yet to find what they mean or from what language they are."

"Well Read, genius boy, tell me please that you know what they mean." Morgan asked Reid playfully but hopeful at the same time.

"Sorry Morgan, I have no idea they look like the Sumerian script." Reid answered mournfully.

"It's Linear Elamite script, it looks like the Sumerian script because it was, for a large part, based on the same original Mesopotamian Cuneiform script, though Elamite is also based on another script which they invented themselves. The language has been extinct since 331 BC, it was spoken by Elamites they are also known as Ilamids." Hephaistion said quietly. Everyone was looking at him in surprise, what couldn't he even make an observation without having them gawking at them?

"How do you know?" Agent Prentice asked, doubtful that the kid would just recognize the symbols while experts could not.

At these words Hephaistion could not help but sneer while answering: "I have a PhD in ancient languages so I am trained to recognize archaic symbols, the 'experts'" ,sneering even more at this word, "would not recognize it because it is not taught at any university, it is to be considered a completely dead language, there are hardly any remnants of this language."

"Then how the hell do you know kid?" Agent Prentiss asked, not happy that some kid was trying to best them, though the rest of team was looking on in apprehension at their conversation, obviously not happy that they were arguing and ready to step in if something got out of hand.

"I would appreciate it agent Prentiss if you would not call me kid, I find it rather degrading, and I am aware of Elamite because I read an article about it published by Professor George Starostin of the 

Russian State University for the Humanities. There were pictures of tablets in Elamite and I recognized the structure of the language, ask another expert, who knows Elamite." He said, now thoroughly annoyed at the contempt agent Prentiss was showing, but he did not dare to make an objection, any misbehavior would probably be reported he thought bitterly.

"Then you know what it says kid?" Prentiss asked, fully aware of the fact that he said he just recognized it but wanting to take the kid down a peg or two, she also deliberately repeated the word kid to get a rise out of the boy so he would throw some kind of tantrum, to prove to the rest of the team who were looking at her with clear disapproval that she was right and that the boy was just some arrogant, stuck-up kid.

"No, Agent Prentiss, I do not know Elamite, like I said, I recognized it, you will need an expert on the language." Hephaistion said, keeping his calm though he had every right to be disgruntled, he refused to give Prentiss the reaction, he was not some child, he had self control.

"So you don't know everything do you kid, are you going to whine to your mommy now?" she mocked. The team was now looking on in shock that an adult like Prentiss could act so juvenile.

"My mother is dead, Agent Prentiss. I have no doubt that you are aware of this fact, it was certainly mentioned in the file." Hephaistion answered calmly, used to this kind of behavior from other people.

"What? Couldn't bear the site of you? Did she die of shame? Did she kill herself when she saw your face?" Prentiss continued to try and provoke him.

"That is enough, Prentiss!" Gideon interrupted, he was furious at Prentiss, she was acting like a spoiled and jealous child.

"Meet me in my office later agent Prentiss." Hotch said, clearly he too was extremely mad at her behavior.

Hephaistion was surprised at their actions, he needed all his attention to keep his emotions in check because of agent Prentiss so he did not notice that everyone else was mad at Prentiss. He was happy that they did not seem to agree with Prentiss' opinion of him but mainly he was relieved that he did not have to tell how his mother died. He did not want them to know that she was right. It was probably not mentioned in the file but his mother did commit suicide when he was 4, my father always said it was my fault, I don't know why she did it, I remember her a bit though, after she killed herself, things only got worse and it wasn't exactly sun shines and daisies before she died.

"What about the kid? You're taking his side?!" Prentiss shouted.

"There no side to take Emily, he has only made an observation and answered your questions." Reid said trying to calm her down.

"Prentiss, my office now!" Hotch said forcefully.

While Hotch and Prentiss walked out, the rest of the team turned to Hephaistion who was now standing in the corner trying not to get noticed, he really did not want another inquisition.

"Why don't you sit down, Hephaistion, don't mind Emily, Hotch'll talk to her, she didn't mean it." Gideon started, trying to appease the youth who was trying to disappear in that corner.

"There is no need to apologize on her behalf, agent Gideon, she merely asked a question." Hephaistion answered, it was not like he was not used to this or that it would not happen again, it always does. Though he did sit down, no need to aggravate anyone who could influence his report.

"So, Hephaistion, what you think?" Gideon asked.

Hephaistion blinked, wondering what he was talking about: "Think of what, sir?"

"The case of course" Gideon said with a smile.

"You want my opinion, sir?" Hephaistion asked hesitantly, finding it hard to believe that they actually thought he knew anything.

"Of course, we could use some help, perhaps you have any idea as to why the unsub would use Elamite symbols or why he chose these victims?" Hephaistion was even more surprised, he actually seemed sincere, like he honestly wanted to know what he thought.

All of them were now looking at him with interest "Well, s…s…sir, the Elam emp..p…pire was in the current s..southw…west Iran, since the un…unsub left an Elamite message, he c…c…ould have a religious or po…political cause." Dammit why did he need to stutter now, this was much easier when the people he was talking to weren't actually interested, he always stuttered when they didn't despise him for some reason or another, he could smoothly answer to an insult but now these people were trying to be nice to him and he started to stutter, way to go Hephaistion.

"Continue" Agent Morgan said mildly, Hephaistion now noticed that he stopped talking for a while and that they were still looking at him expectantly, perhaps they did not mind the stuttering he wondered hopefully.

"S..since there aren't a lot of p…people who know Elamite the unsub is probably well e..ed…educated. In Elamite religion the most important goddess was Kiririscha, though if the killings are because of a re..religion it is more pro…probable that it concerns Islam and that the killer simply chose Elamite be…because it is one of the o…old…oldest languages of Iran. Beside the gender the v..victims have n..nothing in common, perhaps they we…were opportunity victims." Hephaistion continued hesitantly, after saying this he went back to looking through the victims files trying to find a connection, though they could be opportunity victims, it was unlikely because the unsub took so much time preparing them before he dumped them, he thought there had to be some kind of significance to it.

"Very good, Hephaistion." Gideon said, impressed at what the boy had deduced.

Hephaistion's head shot up at these words, did the man just compliment him?  
"T…t…thank y…you s…s…sir."Hephaistion stuttered more than ever, these people were messing up his entire image, as far as the FBI knew Hephaistion Athean Winters just did not stutter, but he was not used to these kind of things: people listening to what he had to say, people liking him, **People actually **_**complementing **_**him**! No, he was not used to this at all.

--

_Meanwhile in Hotch's office:_

"Prentiss! What the hell was that out there?" Hotch all but yelled, Emily had never seen him this angry.

"The kid was asking for it, he's just a snotnosed little kid, he does not belong here." Prentiss exclaimed haughtily.

"He made a good observation, without him who knows how long it would take us to figure out what language it was, you heard JJ, they didn't know what it was!"

"So what, he knew one little thing, the kid thinks he owns the place 'cause he thinks he's smart."

"Mr. Winters saved us a lot of time, in the time that it would take to figure the symbols out, the unsub could have killed another woman."

"That's an excuse for acting like an arrogant prat?"

"He was not arrogant in any way, in fact, he seemed shy and hesitant. How can he be arrogant, you saw his file, you know just as well as I that those records does not exactly lead to a happy childhood, god only know what the kid went through _before _ he got emancipated and even now he has a bunch of restrictions which we do not know the details of but I doubt they allow him much freedom, he seemed bitter about it."

"Oh no, let's a pity the kid 'cause he can't do whatever he wants." Prentiss mocked.

"Prentiss! That's enough, if you do not improve your behavior to Mr. Winters there _will _be consequences." Hotch said, furious that Prentiss was acting so immature and unprofessional.

"I'll give the kid the respect he deserves, which isn't much right now!" Prentiss answered rudely and walked out of his office. Hotch too walked back to the conference room, they had a case to solve, Hephaistion has to be a mystery for another day.

--

**What do you think? Let me know in a REVIEW!  
My apologies for those who like Emily Prentiss, I know I made her a bitch but it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I needed someone to be the skeptic and deliver a contrast to the behavior of the rest of the team, to prove to Hephaistion that the team is just and does not take each others sides against him when he is right.  
My apologies if I made a mistake with the whole Elamite thing, I just got my info of Wikipedia, feel free to mention it if I made a mistake and I will correct it. Be gentle with your flames against spelling and grammar, English is not my main language.  
I know it's not very believable that he's actually that smart, but just look at Artemis Fowl, he supposedly has an IQ of 300 or so while the highest IQ ever recorded was 228, this is my story, just remember, it's fiction-reality balance, like the book 1984 about Big Brother, the government has more power than you think, creepy. You'll see in later chapters how Hephaistion is controlled.**

**Oh yeah, let me know which you would like best and why: Hephaistion/Reid, Hephaistion/Morgan, Hephaistion/Morgan/Reid or perhaps another one.**


	3. Chapter 3: Solving a case

**Chapter 3: Solving a case**

Hotch walked back into the conference room just in time to see Prentiss throw a hateful look at the new member of the team, Hephaistion Winters. Reid was working on the geographical profile and, like always when he was thinking, he was completely oblivious to the things that happened around him so he did not notice the hateful interaction. Morgan, Gideon and JJ though did notice Prentiss' spiteful look and turned to Hotch with questioning expressions; with a glance at Prentiss to make sure that she wasn't looking, he gave a little shake of the head to indicate that she would not listen to reason.

Hephaistion was still looking through the files of the women, looking for a connection between the victims. So far he had not found anything beside the fact that they were all roughly the same age and that they all had a family and a nice childhood.

"Everything alright, Hephaistion?" Hotch questioned when he saw the frustrated look on the youths face.

For the second time Hephaistions head shot up with surprise: normally people wouldn't try to initiate a conversation with him, they would either feel stupid because they could not understand everything he said or they would think he was trying too hard, heaven forbid that a teenager would actually have a decent vocabulary!

"What?! Yes, everything's fine, I'm looking for a connection between the victims we might have missed." Then he remembered his job description as assistant so he added reluctantly: "Is there anything I can do for you, sir?"

Hotch too remembered that the letter said he could let the boy do whatever they wanted him to do and quickly answered, not wanting the boy to believe that he had to be some kind of slave: "No, of course not Hephaistion, let me know if you find anything."

"Of course, sir." Hephaistion replied, relieved that he would not be treated as a slave and he quickly turned back to the files before Agent Hotchner changed his mind.

"Gideon, Morgan and Prentiss, each pick a victim, go talk to their families, friends, neighbors, any connection you can find."

At these words Hephaistion hesitantly spoke up: "According to this, they all follow university evening classes, they attend three different kind of universities, but ask if they perhaps visited other universities recently, attended any lectures concerning Islam or Elam culture." Gideon and Morgan nodded in acknowledgment of his words but Prentiss just glared at him again.

"Prentiss! Do it!" Hotch ordered, suspecting that she would not just because it was Hephaistion's suggestion.

"Yes, sir." Prentiss said grudgingly and they were off.

"Reid, anything with the geographical profile yet?" Hotch asked turning to Reid who was looking at it pensively.

"It may be a coincidence but if you connect the places where the victims were found, it forms an almost perfect equilateral triangle." Reid replied thoughtfully.

"The unsub might be trying to form a sign of significance." Hephaistion added, he too was now looking at the map.

"He's forming a pentagram!" Hephaistion exclaimed suddenly and he rushed to his laptop at his desk.

Hotch and Reid, now beyond curious about how the youth came to that conclusion, quickly followed him, Hephaistion was typing something in like a madman, looking through all sorts of files.

"There," he exclaimed, "two months ago there was a case, not a BAU case, that was never solved. The FBI gave me access to most case files so I could study them and I remembered this one: it were two woman, killed and dressed up but they were wearing nun outfits and there were Hebrew signs on them; really, they didn't make sense, they were all signs for death and religion. They never found out who did it." Hephaistion said excited.

"How are you so convinced that they are connected to these murders?" Hotch asked beginning to see the similarities but wasn't quite sure how Hephaistion was so.

"If you put these two dumping sites on the map, you get a pentagram. And I know for a fact that this symbol right here means dead." Hephaistion said while pointing at one of the symbols.

"I thought you didn't knew Elamite?" Hotch asked, impressed with the fact that Hephaistion had noticed the connection.

Hephaistion couldn't stop himself from blushing, "_Jeesh...! Hephaistion, what are you doing?! Blushing?! What happened with your cool and collected attitude?!"_ he thought. "I… I just re… rec… recognized it sir, I… I'm s... sorry, s… s… sir." He mumbled, cursing himself for not seeing it before. "I o… on… only know a ha… handful of s… signs, sir."

"You did nothing wrong, Hephaistion, it was good of you to see it at all" Hotch said gently.

"Yes, sir." Hephaistion mumbled looking down at the floor, not wanting to look at his supervisor in the eye, afraid of what he might see.

"Let's call the detective who handled this case to see if he knows anything more. You don't happen to know who he was, Hephaistion..." Hotch trailed, looking at the youth.

"Uhm… yes, sir, detective Serry, from the Virginia Police Department. Do you need his phone number, sir?" Hephaistion answered quickly.

"You remember?"Hotch asked incredulously.

"Yes, I do." He said distractedly while writing it down: "Here you go, sir."

"Thank you, I'll call him now." With that Hotch disappeared into his office and Hephaistion was left alone with SA Dr. Spencer Reid.

"Sooo, why did they decide you should work here?" Reid asked.

"I don't know, sir. I suppose to help solve cases..." Hephaistion could not help but state with a slight smile.

"Of course, of course." Reid replied, totally missing the joke. "Do you like it so far?"

"Well, it has only been a day but it is quite satisfying, sir." Hephaistion replied dutiful.

"You don't have to call me sir, nobody around here does."

"You're my superior, sir, it would be appropriate not to do so." Hephaistion stated carefully.

"It's strange to be called sir.., Aren't you a bit overqualified to be an assistant?" Reid inquired.

"I do not decide what my position is, Dr. Reid, assistant is just my current title, I'm a partial ward of the state. It's… complicated. No matter what exactly I do or what my title or rank is, I have the same regulations, they can assign me somewhere else whenever they want to." Hephaistion answered, trying to explain that it didn't matter where he was or what he did, they controlled him just as much.

Hotch walked out of his office: "I called the detective, he's coming and bringing all the files and notes." Hotch announced.

--

Gideon came back first. While he was reporting to Hotch what he found out, Morgan and Prentiss arrived. Apparently both, the first and the third victim, went to a lecture about anti-religion in U.Va. two weeks ago, the family of the second victim didn't know if she went to any lecture but confirmed that the third victim was away for that weekend.

When everyone was back in the conference room Hotch explained the new development in the case: "We found another two victims who were killed two months ago, they are linked to these three victims." Hotch then proceeded to explain the similarities between the cases and the pentagram they formed together. "I've already contacted the detective who was on that case and he'll be here in a few hours, he's gathering up the files and evidence." Hotch continued.

"I suppose our resident wonder came up with this theory?" Prentiss sneered.

"It's not just a theory, Prentiss, you can't deny the facts, it's clear that they are connected." Morgan responded to the mockery.

Prentiss snorted: "So, wonder boy, you don't happen to know who did it too?"

"You will have to check with the families of the other two victims but it is likely that they too attended that lecture, the killings are an obvious sign that the unsub is mocking religion. The Elamite culture in polytheistic religion, the Hebrew, the nun outfit, the Islam dress from these three victims are mockeries of monotheistic religions and the pentagram mocks witchcraft, the paranormal or superstition, which are also considered a religion to some people. Since we know at least two victims attended the anti-religion lecture and the other one is more than likely to have attended it, the unsub is probably someone who attended the lecture or even perhaps the lecturer himself." Hephaistion deduced coldly.

"Reid, go to Garcia, ask her if she has a list of people who attended that lecture and the name and address of the lecturer." Hotch ordered.

Reid disappeared, on his way to the lair of the tech Goddess.

"Morgan, Hephaistion, go ask the families of the other two victims some questions. I trust you know their names and addresses, Hephaistion." Hotch said, remembering that the kid seemed to retain everything like Reid.

"Me, sir?!" Hephaistion asked surprised. "I mean… yes, sir, I know them." And with that Morgan and Hephaistion went on their way as well.

Reid walked in with a bunch of files: "The name of the lecturer is Professor Marin Leeves, here's a list of people who attended, all five victims are on it, sir." Reid stated.

"The professor, does he match our profile?" Hotch asked immediately.

"No, sir, _she _does not, her assistant, Jack Meyers, however does completely."

"Let's go." Hotch decided.

--

"Mr. Meyers, FBI open up!" Gideon warned

"Gideon, he's going out the back, let's go." Hotch whispered forcefully.

Meyers was clearly a scholar, Gideon and Hotch caught up with him in no time.

"Mr. Meyers you're under arrest for the homicide of 5 women, you have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be hold against you. You have the right to an attorney, if you can't afford one, one will be appointed to you by the state." Hotch read him his rights while cuffing him.

-- "Well, that was surprisingly quick." Gideon stated when they were all filling in paperwork, or where supposed to, after catching the unsub.

Seeing Reid and Hephaistion reading books at rapid speed, Gideon could not help but snort in amusement at the picture, it looked like some kind of competition, though he was aware that they didn't even notice each other. Emily and JJ where arguing, Gideon couldn't hear what about but he could guess that it was about the new team member; he too didn't quite know what to make of him, he was clearly brilliant and was a good asset to the team, but he could not help but wonder why he had been asigned to the BAU or what the deal with all those restrictions that nobody seem to be willing to talk about was.

Hotch too was staring at the new member wondering what was with the kid and the FBI.

--

"Garcia, what have you found about Hephaistion?" Hotch asked when he entered her lair.

Garcia's smile fell immediately, she clearly wasn't comfortable with her task.

"We're only trying to help him, Garcia. There's obviously something about him, I just want to understand him." Hotch said soothingly.

"Yes, I realize that but still… It didn't feel right to go snooping around his privacy." Garcia said mournfully. "I did find some stuff, but the kid's history is very shrouded…"

"Just tell me what you know." Hotch said gently.

"Well…"

--

**What do you think? REVIEW!!  
This is one case solved, it's surprisingly hard to come up with original cases, but what did you think? Hated it or Loved it?  
Anyway again forgive me for my spelling or grammar and constructive criticism is always welcome.  
If you're wondering how I imagine Hephaistion looks like; I think he looks like Hotohori from the anime series Fushigi Yūgi but then real and smaller/shorter. Here for picture: ****/efrenee/images/hotohori.jpg****  
With thanks to my beta: Victoria ( fanfiction nick: mvpl )**

**And remember to vote about which pairing you would prefer: Hephaistion/Reid, Hephaistion/Morgan, Hephaistion/Reid/Morgan or other paring, be sure to specify which then.**


	4. Chapter 4: Another piece of the puzzle

**Chapter 4: Another piece of the puzzle**

_Last chapter:_

"_Yes I realize that but still… It didn't feel right to go snooping around his privacy." Garcia said mournfully. "I did find some stuff, but the kid's history is very shrouded…"  
"Just tell me what you know." Hotch said gently.  
"Well…."_

"Most of what I found is from official records, school records and such, which is really weird, I mean, he's got a laptop so he does not have some kind of technophobia, you would think he at least was a member of a website, or a library, for heaven's sake!... with all those book he reads. But there is nothing after he's eleven or so besides his university records and published works and stuff, nothing personal. I couldn't even find an email address. Also, I couldn't find a medical record from before he was eleven, hell, the only thing I found from before he was eight is a birth certificate, and I only found school records from his orphanage time. Someone erased every trace of him from the web, he has to be a member of something... Do you think he did it himself?" Garcia asked.

"He can certainly work with a computer, when he was showing us a file he was typing in commands quicker than I could read them, it seemed as if he had to break in his own computer." Hotch stated looking thoughtful.

"Maybe his protection on his computer... if he has such advanced protection there's a good chance that he erases his web trail while he is surfing, if you could get me his laptop, I could try to hack his computer." Garcia said not looking happy with the prospect of doing that, despite the fact that she suggested it.

"I'll try to get it, but I think he took it home last night, I doubt he'll just leave it here." Hotch speculated. "What did you discover in the files you've found."

"For one, he did not go to school until he was eight, apparently his father did not send him to school when he was living there, the year that he had been living on the streets is completely blank besides library cards from 4 libraries in Virginia, peculiar though his father never reported him missing." Garcia started.

"Is his father still alive?" Hotch asked curiously.

"Yes, but according to his medical records, he will not be alive for much longer, he has advanced lung cancer." Garcia continued. "As expected, his school grades are impeccable but he did get suspended from High School three times for skipping class and got in a lot of trouble, apparently he was always late and…" Garcia squinted at the screen: "Hah, he refused to take PE, he almost got kicked out of school for that one but instead he was forced to tutor other students, ah poor kid, tutoring brats who are 6 year older than him." Garcia said, clearly amused. "The medical records I do have are from after he got emancipated; they show that he had been underweight for a long time, he had to look at what he ate for months to get his weight to a healthy level, there's no cause given. Beside malnutrition, he had a bad case of pneumonia and a concussion with bruises when he got beat up one time when he was 12. Ha, after that he took martial arts lessons in college, according to this he rather excelled at it, way to go kid!" Garcia continued.

"Anything else?" Hotch asked.

"You know he had 5 PhD's, well right now he's doing 2 more and over the years, he also took some courses, he did the exams of those courses, but there's not really a diploma." Garcia said.

"What courses?" Hotch inquired.

"Oh, mostly languages. In total he has PhDs in Psychology, Ancient languages, History, Mathematics, Physics and Medicine. Right now he's doing PhDs in Chemistry and Psychiatry, and he's also specializing in Quantum Physics. As for his additional courses, he followed courses for Italian, Greek, French, German, Russian and Dutch lenguages, and a course in toxicology" Garcia said awed by all of this.

"He can't be in that many classes!" Hotch exclaimed.

"No, a lot of this is done by sending him textbooks, he studies them, attends a few classes and he does his exams when he chooses to do so, that's how it's possible that he has so many degrees in only 4 years. That's how he's doing his courses right now too." Garcia explained.

"Right, thank you Garcia, let me know if you find anything." And with those parting words he walked to the door, intent on starting the day and trying to find out more about Hephaistion.

"Sure thing Hotch." Garcia said distractedly, already busy typing away at her keyboard.

--

SSA Aaron Hotchner walked in to the conference, seeing Reid, Hephaistion and Gideon already there.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, addressing the three of them.

"Yes, sir." They mumbled back, then Reid focused back on his coffee and Hephaistion went back to reading another book. Gideon was watching Hephaistion with a pensive expression, probably also trying to understand the kid. Hotch too took a well-appreciated cup of coffee and sat down, intent on enjoying his caffeine while they waited for the rest of the team. He did not have to wait long, JJ and Morgan came in almost immediately after Hotch sat down, JJ making a beeline for the coffee machine. After a few minutes Prentiss walked in and immediately glared at Hephaistion, Hotch sighed at this, apparently she hadn't changed her ridiculous opinion over night.

"Right, JJ what have you for us?" Hotch got straight to the point now that everyone was here.

"A serial killer in Miami." JJ began after she finished her coffee. "So far there are four victims, all young-adults. The first victim Nathan Perelli, 19, second year college student, studying English. Then Kirk Strand, 17, still in high school, an average student. Evan Harper, 18, just started as a student in an art academy and last Brian Mos, 20, sport scholarship for Miami University. All of the victims were found a week after their disappearance by fishers a few miles off the coast." JJ continued.

"Right, everybody get your bags, it seems like we're going to Miami. Wheels up in half an hour." Hotch declared. Everybody quickly stood up and got their bags and Hotch left the conference room to get his bag too.

--

_On the jet:_

Everyone was going over the files to see what else linked the victims together, or why the unsub chose these particular victims.

"So, what have we got so far; they're all about the same age, all male, all students. Their appearance isn't alike so that can't be it." Morgan summarized.

"They all seem quite popular and outgoing." Hephaistion noted. "Perhaps they frequented the same club or restaurant?" Hephaistion suggested.

"_Seem_ popular and outgoing, on what do you base that?" Prentiss asked in contempt, still set on humiliating the _irritating_ kid.

"Their school reports show that they had a lot friends, did not get in too much trouble, and had average grades." Hephaistion explained slowly like talking to a child.

"That doesn't prove anything." Prentiss retorted.

"This is behavioral analysis, since you work here too you should know that from these facts you can come to my conclusion." Hephaistion said irritated.

Just as Prentiss was about to respond, Reid spoke up: "He's right, Emily, it's a logical conclusion."

"Keep out of this, _Reid_, what do _you_ know, you're just like pipsqueak over there." Prentiss said, her voice laced with contempt. Reid looked wounded that Prentiss would suggest that he was bad at his job.

"Prentiss, keep your opinion to yourself, we got a case to solve!" Hotch said angered by her behavior.

"Yes, sir." She said grudgingly.

"Alright, now what else do we know? What about the geographical profile? Where the bodies dumped from a boat or did they float that far to the sea?" Hotch asked.

Hephaistion began typing away at his computer and then stated: "The unsub must have had a boat."

"What makes you say that?" Morgan asked confused on how he knew that.

"What? Oh, I looked up the tides. If you watch the time that they were found, it's not possible for them to drift that far, in fact, they were dumped much farther in to the sea but because of the fact that the unsub did not try to sink them, he must have expected them to be found eventually." Hephaistion explained.

"Okay, good work Hephaistion, that narrows down the suspects at least." Gideon said.

--

_In the Miami Police department:_

"Hello, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, this is my team: SSA Jason Gideon, SSA Derek Morgan, Special Agent Emily Prentiss, Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid and Dr. Hephaistion Winters." Hotch introduced himself and the rest of the team, deciding to add Hephaistion's title to at least try and get them to take him seriously.

"Hello, my name is detective Wirest, I've been working on this case from the beginning." The detective introduced himself while looking skeptically at botch Reid and Hepahistion.

"Can you show us where we can set our things up?" Hotch asked impatiently.

"Of course, of course. Follow me." Wirest said while showing them to a rather small room, but it would have to do.

"Thank you, could you order one of your men to deliver all files concerning this case to Dr. Reid and Dr. Winters. They'll look into them while the rest of the team interviews the victims families." Hotch requested.

"Yeah, sure." He said while looking even more skeptical at the two young doctors. "But we already questioned the families of the victims."

"We would just like to ask them some questions, see if we can find out anything else." Gideon stated politely, knowing very well how easily insulted the local police was sometimes.

"Very well then." The detective said clearly disgruntled.

--

"You found anything?" Reid asked Hephaistion. They had looked over every file at least four times just to see if they've missed anything, despite the fact that they both could remember everything they read word by word.

"No, nothing." Hephaistion replied disappointed: "It doesn't make sense, there has to be another connection besides the fact that they are all students. When are the others coming back? maybe they've found out something more"

"They'll be here any minute now, Hotch just called but he didn't sound very enthusiastic, so I doubt it." Reid answered just when the rest of the team walked in with indeed disappointed faces.

"Find anything interesting?" Hephaistion still asked.

"No, nothing peculiar," Morgan said: "you were right though, the parents say they were all well liked and outgoing." He continued with a small smile.

"Yeah, I know, it's mentioned in the initial reports but they too don't say much more." Hephaistion responded distracted by looking through the pictures the team had taken from the victims rooms.

"You're not going to find anything in those pictures, Hephaistion. It's just the room of teenage boys, nothing weird or unusual." Gideon said when he noticed Hephaistion looking at them intently.

"Yes, there isn't anything unusual about them but…" Hephaistion said hesitantly.

"What but?" Gideon asked curiously.

"Well, those posters, dvds and books they had, they're all a bit similar in style." Hephaistion continued still in a hesitant tone."

"So, they're typical teenage boys stuff! They probably are what's popular with kids these days, you should know that, that's your genius observation?" Prentiss commented.

"That's just it, typical teenage boys like metal or hard rock, of some kind. These are nothing of the kind." Hephaistion said, now with a bit more confidence. "Their rooms are also a bit more organized and neater than a typical teenage boy's room."

"What are you saying Hephaistion?" Gideon asked even more curious to the boy's thoughts.

"Uhmmm… have you asked the families of the victims about their errr… sexual orientation?" Hephaistion asked, actually blushing a bit.

"No, I don't think we did... Why do you think they are homosexual or bisexual?" Gideon asked.

"Just... their choice in music and films, the music is calmer then the stereotypes, also the films are mostly romantic, normally they'd be action." Hephaistion explained.

"We'll go back and ask, you come with us Hephaistion, maybe you see something else we didn't notice." Hotch said, grateful with Hephaistions help.

--

A short drive later; Hotch, Morgan, Prentiss and Hephaistion were back at the first victim's house. "Hello ma'am sorry to bother you again but we have to ask you one more question about your son, and Dr. Winters here would like to have another look in your son's room." Hotch said when Mrs. Perelli opened the door.

"Of course, come in, I'll do anything I can to help you catch the person who killed my son." The woman said immediately. "His room is upstairs, second door on the right, Dr. Winters." And with that Hephaistion disappeared upstairs.

"Isn't he a bit young to work for the FBI, agent Hotchner?" The woman asked when he was out of sight.

"He is a bit younger than usual, but he is emancipated and I assure you that he is fully qualified to work for us." Hotch said gently: "Madam, has your son ever had a girlfriend or a boyfriend?" He asked delicately.

"Yes, he had a boyfriend about a year ago, it was a shock for us but we did not really mind. Why?" She said, confirming at least one of the four to Hephaistion's suspicion.

"It's just something to take into consideration ma'am." Hotch replied: "We'll be going now, thank you for your help." He said when Hephaistion came back.

"It was no problem, let me know if you need to know anything else." She said friendly.

"We will, Mrs. Perelli."

Once outside Hotch spoke to Hephaistion "You were right about this one. Found anything else?"

"Not really, the only thing that I found was a collection of photographs of his and what I presume was his boyfriend." Hephaistion responded.

"Yes, the mother mentioned a boyfriend." Hotch responded: "Let's see if the rest of the victims fit your theory."

--

"Mr. Strand, sorry to bother you again but could we ask just one more thing and look in your son's room again." Morgan began when the second victims father opened the door.

You could clearly notice that the man was disgruntled by their presence by his more than annoyed tone of voice when he said: "Haven't you people bothered us enough?"

"It won't take long sir, just let Dr. Winters here look in your son's room and answer a few questions, it won't take all that long" Morgan said, trying to appease the grieving parent.

"_**Doctor **_Winters?" The man said sarcastically while raising a mocking eyebrow when he noticed Hephaistion. "How would it help you find my son's killer by letting some kid snoop around in his room, go back to school kid." The man continued mockingly, now looking directly at Hephaistion.

Prentiss snorted in an obvious agreement.

"Even one of your agents agrees with me, the murder investigation of my son isn't some training camp!" The man shouted angered.

"Please, Mr. Strand, we're just trying to find out who murdered your son, Dr. Winters can help us with that, he's already fully qualified to help us sir." Morgan said trying to placate the man after shooting Prentiss a warning look.

"Very well then but be quick about it."The man said, finally cooperating.

"Do you know if your son was interested in boys instead of girls?" Morgan asked, directly coming to the point while Hephaistion went upstairs.

"What?! No, my son would never be one of those disgusting fags." The man exclaimed: "Why would you think that?!"

"We're trying to find things the victims had in common sir." Morgan said calmly although he was furious on the inside, how could people be so prejudiced.

"Well, if any of those kids was a disgusting shirt-lifter, then they had it coming." The man continued insultingly.

"Thank you for your cooperation sir, we'll be going now." Morgan gritted out between his teeth, trying hard not to punch the guy.

--

"Well even if the kid was gay, he obviously would not have told his father." Hotch said, also angry that the man would be so prejudiced. "I really don't like people like that."

"Everybody is entitled to their opinion." Prentiss said, defending the guy.

"No, Prentiss, that's just pure prejudice." Hotch said still angry. "What did you find Hephaistion?" Hotch continued before Prentiss could argue further and make him even angrier.

"I… I think we can safely say that Kirk Strand is interested in men." Hephaistion replied blushing.

"Why? What did you find?" Hotch asked, clearly not understanding Hephaistion's mortification and Morgan's amusement.

"I…uhm… I found his…errr… gay porn collection on his computer." Hephaistion said while blushing even more.

"Oh." Was all Hotch had to say. "Err… well yes… we can be sure of _that_. How did you get access to his computer? It was password protected." Hotch questioned when he recovered from his embarrassment, last time we were there Morgan called Garcia about it but she said she didn't think she could hack his computer if she wasn't there and even than it would be a challenge, he had a pretty tight knit security system on it.

"I… uhm… I kn…knew how to g…get through the s…sy…system." Hephaistion replied, clearly nervous.

"Did you?" Hotch said trying to encourage the boy to explain how he knew to break into a rather difficult security system.

"Yes." Hephaistion replied short and firmly, clearly not wanting to explain it further.

"Very well then." Hotch conceded: "Let's see if your theory proves to be correct with the last two victims."

--

"Could you get your parents, Ms. Harper." Hotch asked the little sister of the third victim when she opened the door.

"Yes, sir, I'll be right back." The girl replied in a sad voice.

"Hello, how can we help you now?" Mr. Harper asked when he and his wife came to the door.

"Yes, we would like to ask you a few more questions and perhaps your daughter can show Dr. Winters your son's room." Hotch said while nodding to Hephaistion.

"Yeah, sure, come on in." Mr. Harper replied. "Casey, sweetie, can you show the nice Doctor to Evan's room." The man said, addressing his daughter.

"'Kay, daddy." The little girl said quietly before she turned to Hephaistion. "Follow me."

"I'll get right to the point, Mrs. and Mr. Harper, do you know if your son was gay?" Hotch asked.

"Yes, yes, he was." Mrs. Harper said immediately. "Why does that matter?"

"We think the killer was targeting homosexual students, I'm sorry Mrs. Harper." Hotch explained.

"Oh god, you mean… that someone killed my baby just because he liked boys more?" Mrs. Harper asked mortified. "Who would do such a thing?"

"I'm truly sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Harper, there are some very prejudiced people out there." Hotch said mournfully.

"Is that all you needed to know, agent Hotchner?" The man said.

"Yes, that is all, thank you for your cooperation." Hotch replied.

The little girl and Hephaistion came back down. "Mommy, mommy, sumthin hurt the doc when he was on the computr." The girl said, having trouble pronouncing everything correctly.

"I'm sure he's fine." The woman told her daughter, thinking she was imagining things.

"Thank again for your help, Mrs. Harper. We'll be going now." Hotch said, trying to figure out what the girl meant.

"It was no problem, say goodbye to the agents now Casey." The woman said

"Goodbye, agents, bye bye doctor." The little girl said.

Once outside Hotch asked: "What did the girl mean with the computer hurting you?"

"Nothing, she was imagining things, sir." Hephaistion said with a completely blank expression.

Hotch made a disbelieving noise but decided to let the matter go for now. "Let's go see if the last victim follows your assessment." Hotch said instead.

--

"Can we ask you a few questions, Mrs. Mos?" Morgan asked when she opened the door.

"Of course, come on in." She said. "Who's this, he wasn't here last time?" She asked when she noticed Hephaistion.

"This is Dr. Winters, he's here to look in your son's room to see if we missed anything." Morgan explained.

"Oh, of course, it's the first door on the right, dearie." The woman said, practically cooing over Hephaistion.

"T… t… thank you ma'am, I'll g… go and take a look." Hephaistion said quickly before practically running upstairs, completely missing Hotch's and Morgan's amused looks, and Prentiss' mocking one.

"Do you know if your son liked boys instead of girls, ma'am?" Morgan asked the woman.

"I… well… he never told me but I saw him once, kissing a boy, I don't know why he never told us, I think he was embarrassed." The woman said.

"Very well ma'am, that's all we needed to know." Morgan said.

"I'll go get Hephaistion." Hotch said, curious as to what the girl have meant.

Hotch walked upstairs and into the last victim's room. He saw Hephaistion on the victim's computer, he was grimacing in pain.

"Are you all right Hephaistion?" Hotch asked concerned.

Hephaistion looked very startled but he quickly masked his expression and turned to look at his supervisor. "I… I'm f… fine, sir." He said nervously.

"You didn't look fine."Hotch pressed the issue.

"I'm fine!" Hephaistion replied more forceful now.

"If you're sure…" Hotch said doubtful. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes, he had a boyfriend, there are mails and pictures of him on the computer." Hephaistion replied, a bit more relaxed now that they were back on familiar ground.

"Okay, let's get back to the station." Hotch said, planning on questioning Hephaistion about the issue later.

"Very well." Hephaistion replied, following Hotch outside.

--

_Back at the station:_

"Hephaistion was right, all the victims were gay." Hotch announced when he walked into the room they were appointed."

"How did you know that anyway, huh kid?" Prentiss said, angry that the kid was right again.

"It was just a theory, as you say I'm a teenager myself, I just noticed a few details that were different.

"Right… a teenager yourself, bet you're a _nancy_ boy yourself too." She said tauntingly.

"I… I… I don't know what you're talking about." Hephaistion said, looking very pale.

"You are! Aren't you! The kid's a shirt-lifter, you're really a freak aren't you." She said spitefully.

"I… I…" Hephaistion stuttered. "E… ex… excuse me." He said before running out the door.

"PRENTISS! What the hell are you doing?!" Gideon shouted, outraged at her behavior.

"Putting the kid in his place." She said sneering.

"Don't be ridiculous! He's done nothing wrong, and the only thing you've done is insult him! If this happens one more time, you're off this team. Do you understand?!" Hotch said, furious at her.

"But…" She started to argue.

"No buts, Prentiss, do you understand?!" Hotch cut her off before she could say anything.

"Yes, sir, I understand." She said grudgingly. And with that Hotch and Gideon walked out of the room intent on finding the upset youth.

--

Eventually they found him in the boys lavatory. Hephaistion was sitting in the corner, softly crying. He couldn't help it, Prentiss was right, he did like boys, even after all that happened to him. He never had a boyfriend or anything, but girls just didn't interest him in that way. He was disgusted by himself, how could he be like that, after all that happened, he didn't understand. He couldn't help it either, he tried being normal, he truly did, but he couldn't. Guess his father was right all along… he wasn't normal, he was a freak.

"Hephaistion." Gideon said gently to the boy, who hadn't noticed them. Hephaistion head shot up and he had a completely unguarded expression in his eyes and on his face, so many emotions, it was a startling difference for the two agents, Hephaistion was always hiding most of his emotions. They saw confusion, hurt, fear but most of all they saw self-loathing in his eyes and expression.

"Hephaistion." Gideon repeated, trying to get the kid's attention.

"Yes?" Hephaistion croaked, his voice breaking with that one word. "Do you need me for something?" He asked confused, trying to figure out why his two supervisors were here.

"No, we wanted to know if you were okay." Gideon said gently, he saw the disbelief on Hephaistion's face, clearly not many people have ever asked him that.

"Okay? Yeah sure, why wouldn't I be okay?, I'm fine." Hephaistion said, already trying to mask his emotions again.

"You weren't fine, Hephaistion, please tell us what made you so upset." Hotch asked.

"It was nothing, I was being ridiculous." Hephaistion said. "I'm sorry for my reaction, I won't let my emotions control me again."

"No, it doesn't matter Hephaistion, you don't have to keep everything to yourself, you can tell us what's wrong." Gideon said, trying to get him to confide in them.

Hephaistion didn't answer, he just looked at his hands in shame.

"Is it because of what Agent Prentiss said?" Gideon asked.

"It's… I can't help it… I don't… I don't do it on purpose, I tried to change it, I really did, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Hephaistion stuttered out, feeling miserable. He wished he was alone, he wished he had the privacy to do what he needed to cope with everything; hopefully he could wait until they went home, these people were too perceptive, he would not be able to keep his secret, they would surely call him insane if they found out about it, it was just a way to deal with things.

"You've done nothing wrong, Hephaistion, you don't have to be sorry, there is nothing wrong with liking boys or being different." Hotch said, hoping that the boy would believe him.

"I'm not normal, I was never normal, I don't… I don't want to be a freak." Hephaistion was mumbling, lost in his memories.

"I doesn't matter, Hephaistion, you're not a freak, you're just different, it's not a bad thing, okay?" Gideon say trying to convince the distraught youth.

Hephaistion still looked doubtful but answered in a small voice: "Okay."

--

**Sooo, this was the fourth chapter, quite long if I say so myself. Next chapter they'll catch the bad guy and Hephaistion's computer mystery will be explained, also the reason why his normal emancipation was denied…. Curious??**

**Anyway please REVIEW, I love reviews, flame if you must but please tell me what you don't like about it. I don't know if you got all the hints in the last part of this chapter but there will be more about that later.**

**With thanks to my beta: Victoria**


	5. Chapter 5: A criminal past?

**Chapter 5: A criminal past?**

"Come along now, Hephaistion, let's go back." Hotch declared, there was little chance that they could convince the kid to open up any more for now so they should focus back on the case. Hephaistion's theory was a large break-through in the investigation: now that they knew what connected the victims, they could find the unsub.

"I'll be right there." Hephaistion replied, clearly wanting some privacy. He really needed to get home soon, to get back to his privacy, where he could cope with things in his own way, he needed… release, he needed the sharp bite of his blade, but he could not, not with these people around. He gathered himself, erased all evidence of him crying and calmly walked back to the rest of the team.

--

"We now know that the victims are all gay, this could lead us to our unsub." Hotch began, trying to get the team to share their own ideas with the rest of them.

"It could be someone picking these kids up at gay bars, intending to kill them." Morgan theorized.

"All of the victims disappeared in the day, they probably weren't in a bar at that time." Reid said.

"The unsub could be a predator, observing its prey, and taking them when they are alone." Gideon suggested.

"Then that would mean the unsub is a professional, try looking for criminals who were recently released. With a record for homophobic offences." Hephaistion observed quietly.

"Yes, good idea Hephaistion, Morgan get Garcia, have her look at possible suspects." Hotch said enthusiastically.

"I've found three people who have been freed in the last two months on those charges in the area." Garcia's voice began when they were all looking at her. "The first two moved away, and the last one… I… I don't know." She said stunned.

"What do you mean Garcia? You know everything, you're the tech goddess." Morgan said.

"The last suspect, he's in witness protection, he testified for the ATF in a huge case and in exchange all charges were dropped against him, I can't break their system." She said, clearly still stunned.

"You can't break into their system? But we don't have time to request that file, it would take weeks, maybe months to get permission." Hotch almost shouted.

"I know… what do we do now?" Garcia said looking up at Hotch.

Suddenly there was a quiet _dammit_ from Hephaistion and everyone looked at him in surprise, it was the first time they had heard him swear, they thought he didn't know how.

"C… can I u… use your e… equip…equipment for a m… moment?" Hephaistion asked Garcia, clearly not looking happy at the prospect of using it.

"I… yeah sure, but why? What do you need it for?"Garcia asked unwilling to let the kid touch her stuff but he didn't look as if he would abuse it.

"J… just, let m… me please." Hephaistion insisted.

"Very well." Garcia said while moving from her seat. Hephaistion sat down and, from the moment his hand began typing, they saw him clearly suppressing pain.

"What the hell!" Hotch exclaimed while Hephaistion was still typing away.

"What? Hotch? What's wrong with him?" Morgan asked, looking bewildered between Hephaistion's pained expression and Hotch.

"I don't know really, but last time I saw him on one of the victims computer, it was hurting him too and the sister of one of the victims said that the computer was hurting him.

"But… then stop him… look at him, it's only hurting him more and more." Reid said and they all looked at Hephaistion and indeed the boy was looking more and more pained but was still typing away diligently.

"What is going on?! You're saying that computer hurt the kid?" Morgan asked in disbelief.

"No… not the computer." Garcia whispered.

"What do you mean 'not the computer', what do you know about this Garcia?" Morgan asked.

"I… I've heard of this but I thought it was just a rumor." Garcia exclaimed still whispering.

"What was a rumor Garcia?" Morgan asked, getting annoyed that the child was hurting by using a computer, for god's sake!.

"It's… It's a sort of bracelet that monitors if you come close to computer equipment that the wearer wasn't supposed to go near. It essentially sends pain waves without causing physical harm to discourage the carrier from going near a computer that isn't approved of by whoever put the bracelet on. The pain seems to continue increasing." She replied shocked.

"You mean… someone put something on the kid to make sure he did not go near a _computer_?" Morgan asked skeptical, but not able to deny the evidence right in front of him. "Why?!"

"They… they use it on hackers they see as dangerous but that they need… to make sure they don't hack without the governments permission. Eventually…" Garcia was interrupted by a slight groan of pain from Hephaistion, suddenly everybody focused back on Hephaistion, they have almost forgot about him because of their astonishment.

"Make him stop!" Reid shouted sounding panicked.

"'m fine, 'm almost there." Hephaistion mumbled, clearly in pain.

"My god…" Garcia exclaimed. "He's actually breaking in their system without them noticing it."

A few seconds later Hephaistion literally flinging himself away from the computer and falling to the ground: "There, your last suspect." He said clearly still in pain.

Everybody quickly looked at the screen, indeed seeing the last suspect's file and then quickly looked back at Hephaistion.

"I hope you don't need any more information, I don't think I can do that again today." Hephaistion said sounding even more pained now when he was trying to get up. Finally succeeding in standing up, he quickly had to support himself on the door.

Gideon came forward: " Hephaistion, why don't you sit down." He said indicating at a sofa backed up to the wall.

"Yes, thank you, sir." Hephaistion said while sitting down.

"Now, what was that all about?" Gideon asked gently.

Suddenly Hephaistion looked incredibly scared, he temporarily forgot that these people would have to deliver a report every month.

Gideon seeing the sudden fear on the youth's face said with a soothing voice "It's alright, Hephaistion, we're not angry or anything."

"I… I… please don't… don't tell them." Hephaistion stuttered, still panicking.

"Don't tell who, Hephaistion?" Hotch asked.

"The report… please don't mention this." Hephaistion begged."Please, I'll do anything just… don't mention it."

"Why not Hephaistion?" Gideon asked curiously.

"You heard Ms. Garcia, I'm not technically allowed to do this…" Hephaistion said.

"Why not?" Reid suddenly asked.

"I… like she said, they think I'm dangerous." Hephaistion said bitterly.

"It's why you were not allowed a normal emancipation, isn't it?" Hotch asked.

"I… yes, they thought, think that I needed supervision, so the FBI _supervises_ me now." Hephaistion said while looking at the bracelet in disgust.

"They can do that?" Morgan asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, I… I agreed, if I wanted a partial emancipation I had to do whatever they thought was needed to keep me _under control_." Hephaistion answered resentfully. "They didn't give me a choice, I would do anything to get to live on my own so I consented to whatever they wanted." He continued, looking down at the floor in shame and resentment.

"Why were you so desperate to get that partial emancipation?" Morgan asked, hoping that Hephaistion would tell them more, they weren't profilers for nothing, they all realize that Hephaistion did not have a happy life so far but hopefully the kid would learn to trust them.

"I… I j… just didn't l… like t… t… the or… orphanage." Hephaistion mumbled, not wanting to discuss it further. He just kept looking to the floor, hoping that they would stop asking questions. He didn't want to talk about the orphanage or his earlier childhood, he just wanted to forget it, he wanted to get free of the FBI influence too, the way they controlled his life.

"Okay, where did you learn to do that?" Garcia asked, immensely curious.

"When I was young, I learned it because I wanted to access files and documents on the Internet, I just wanted to learn new things, read books that weren't available in a library." Hephaistion answered honestly.

"But how did you become so good?" Garcia asked, not satisfied with that answer.

At this, they saw the corners of Hephaistions mouth curl up slightly and then he said: "When I do something, Ms. Garcia, I do it well."

"You can say that again." Morgan mumbled, thinking about all of the kid's titles, he truly didn't leave things half way done.

"What happens if you continue working on an unauthorized computer?" Gideon asked, dreading the answer. "How exactly does that bracelet thing work?"

"Well… eventually I pass out from pain, they monitor how often I go near an unauthorized computer, if you pass a certain limit they… come visit." Hephaistion said hesitantly. "It doesn't do any damage, it just hurts and when I stop using the computer, the pain disappears after half an hour or so. It doesn't cause any physical harm. It just… hurts." He ended, unable to find a better explanation.

"And what happens when they visit? And who are they?" Hotch continued questioning.

"Last time they came; they set the bracelet to increase the pain faster and gave a few more restrictions on what equipment I could use." Hephaistion said, ashamed of the whole debacle. "They are just people who work here I guess, they probably monitor other people."

"Isn't that torture?" Reid asked incredulously.

"No, it does no real harm and I agreed to the regulations of the emancipation. It's like a criminal bracelet which does not allow you to leave a certain boundary." Hephaistion asked, surprised that these people seemed to think that this was unjust and that they did not blindly agree about the fact that he must be kept under surveillance.

"Anyway, don't you have a suspect to investigate, I hope my effort was worth it." Hephaistion said, trying to divert the attention from himself.

"Indeed." Gideon said, fully realizing what the kid was trying to do but deciding that they would let it rest for now.

--

**That's chapter 5, please REVIEW. And please, let me know which pairing you'd like, I still haven't decided yet. **

**With thanks to my beta: Victoria.**


	6. Chapter 6: Catching the unsub

**Chapter 6: Catching the unsub**

_Previous chapter:_

"_Anyway, don't you have a suspect to investigate, I hope my effort was worth it." Hephaistion said, trying to divert the attention from himself._

"_Indeed." Gideon said._

_H_

"This is definitely our guy." Morgan said while looking over the file Hephaistion just unlocked. "He fits our profile perfectly. Harrison Jessan, arrested on homophobic charges six times."

"Prentiss, Gideon and Morgan come with me, let's pick this guy up." Hotch began, finally reacting "JJ, Reid help Hephaistion... and Hephaistion, don't ever do that again without warning us first." Hotch continued.

"Yes sir, I'm sorry sir, but I don't need any help." Hephaistion said, clearly still in pain. "I've felt this before, it'll be gone soon."

"Nevertheless, you'll stay here." And with those words Hotch, Prentiss, Morgan and Gideon left to catch the unsub.

"Everything all right Hephaistion?" Reid asked, looking worried at the young man who was still grimacing.

"I'm just peachy, sir." Hephaistion said sarcastically.

"You don't look so great." Reid said, again oblivious to Hephaistions sarcasm.

"Can I get you anything to help?" JJ asked, feeling helpless while the youth was in pain.

"No, thank you, it'll be over soon. Trust me." Hephaistion said, trying to reassure them. The pain started to fade.

When Reid and JJ saw the tension in Hephaistions face lessen, they both sighed in relieve.

"Feeling better?" Garcia asked, also concerned for the youth but still stunned by his computer skills, I mean he could do things even she couldn't and she was one of the best.

"Yes, thank you for asking." Hephaistion said.

_Meanwhile outside the unsubs residence:_

"Mr. Jessan, FBI, open the door." Hotch shouted.

"What?!" The unsub said when he opened the door.

"Mr, Jessan you're under arrest for the kidnapping and murder of four students. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of Law. You have the right to an attorney, if you can not afford an attorney one will be appointed to you by the State." Hotch said while cuffing the struggling man.

"Let me go, the disgusting animals deserved it. They should be put down!" The crazed man shouted while Hotch dragged him to the police car.

"No, you're the one who should be put down." Morgan said in disgust.

_Back at the Miami Police Station_:

"Well you were right Hephaistion." Morgan said. "And without your hacking skills another boy could have been killed."

"I guess I was lucky." Hephaistion said unwilling to accept praise.

"That wasn't just luck, Hephaistion, it would have taken us days maybe weeks more to solve this case if you weren't here." Hotch said, pressing the youth in accepting the compliment.

Hephaistion just made an incomprehensible noise.

"Well I think this calls for a celebratory drink." Morgan said while standing up to leave. Everbody stood up, intent on following Morgan.

When Morgan noticed Hephaistion didn't stand up he said: "Are you coming Hephaistion? It'll be fun."

"What is it, kid? Feel to good to have a drink with us?" Prentiss added sneering.

"I... no, I just... I'm not allowed to drink alcohol anyway." Hephaistion said, clearly nervous for some reason.

"Just come with us Hephaistion, you don't have to drink an alcoholic drink, Hotch never does." Morgan said, wondering why the kid seemed unwilling to come.

"I... I don't..." Hephaistion trailed off, clearly unwilling to divulge the reason for his refusal.

"What is it Hephaistion?" Hotch asked gently. "You can tell us."

"I... I d...don't have an...any m...money." Hephaistion said stuttering and looking at the floor in shame.

"How come Hephaistion? With all your publishings and this job you make a substantial amount of money." Gideon asked.

"Yeah, what is it kid? You're not old enough to gamble." Prentiss said mockingly.

"It's... one of t...the re..restrictions, I... I have an a...allowance." Hephaistion said still looking at the floor, clearly ashamed of something he had no control over.

"Why?" Hotch questioned curiously.

"T...to cont...control me f...further, I guess." Hephaistion answered stuttering.

"Who gave you all these restrictions?" Hotch questioned furious that they seemed to control everything this kid does and being so unfair about it.

"Various people, it's mainly SSA Milner who supervises everything I do." Hephaistion said in a resentful tone.

"Aren't I your supervisor now?" Hotch asked.

"Yes, but SSA Milner still supervises my restrictions, though you can request supervision over those too." Hephaistion suggested hopefully. So far his new supervisor seemed outraged at his restrictions, perhaps he could take over their supervision of his restrictions and give him more freedom.

"I'll look into that. For now, just come with us, we'll buy you a drink, don't worry about it." Hotch said, intent on requesting supervision over Hephaistion immediately so that he could give the boy a fair treatment.

**So this was another chapter... please tell me what you think, I adore reviews!**

**With thanks to my beta.**


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